


Of Astrophysics and National Security

by NotAsSweetasASweetPotato



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Although Bucky disagrees, Barista Bucky Barnes, Bucky is considering going back to school, F/M, Fluff, Let me enjoy my rarepair, Nervous Bucky Barnes, One Shot, Referred to as James until the end of the work, Shuri is a junior, They enjoy each other's company, They're both poor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 12:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15315729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotAsSweetasASweetPotato/pseuds/NotAsSweetasASweetPotato
Summary: For the past two years, Shuri has visited the same cafe at the same time to see her favorite barista, a man named James. One particular Monday, she gets the chance to talk to him for longer than just a few minutes at the cash register.





	Of Astrophysics and National Security

**Author's Note:**

> I get that the Shuri/Bucky (or WinterPrincess as I've seen it called), ship is not a popular one, or even a ship that many people think should be allowed given Shuri's age. If I'm not mistaken, the director or writer of Black Panther confirmed that she's 16 in Black Panther. That being said, I don't ship Bucky and Shuri in the canon Marvel Universe, however, when considering their story and would-have-beens, I can't help but to think they could have a rather sweet relationship if Shuri wasn't so young and Bucky wasn't as mature (mentally--I think he's in his late 20s physically). 
> 
> I mean, Shuri cured him. She quite literally saved his life. I've not doubt that she vouched for him to stay in Wakanda for as long as he did, and that she made sure he was provided for in terms of shelter, privacy, food, and a task to keep him preoccupied (the goats). 
> 
> So, inspired by the idea of their friendship, I wanted to make a romantic story where Shuri and Bucky are around the same age, and where she stills helps him, even if it's just a little bit.
> 
> Thus, this fic was born.
> 
> I didn't work too hard on this and it's unbeta-ed, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. ^^

“There,” Shuri chimed as she uploaded a new studyspo post to her Tumblr blog. Within seconds, the post, one of her detailed and colorful class notes for Physics 3100, was bombarded with likes and reblogs. She smiled to herself as she remembered her studyblr was just one hundred people shy of two thousand followers. 

“What’s got you so smiley today?” James, her favorite barista, asked as she entered Hydra, one of the best locally owned coffee shops on campus. The shop's walls were a cheery pastel yellow covered with aesthetic photos of the German countryside, and just one photo that Shuri could observe for days of snowy Siberia. The tables and chairs indoors were all wooden, giving the shop a nice, rustic touch, even though their coffee and specialty drink machines were some of the most efficient and spectacular ones Shuri had ever seen. 

"You always say I'm smiley," Shuri teased, approaching the counter she never saw James come out from behind. She'd come to this shop twice a week at the same time for almost two years now, and she'd never seen all of James or had a long-enough conversation with him. For just a moment, the thought, although fleeting, made her sad. She was twenty-one years old and while she'd had one or two summer flings, she'd never had a boyfriend before. When her friends would ask her what she's waiting for, she could never give them a straight answer, but her mind would flash to James, his dorky smile, and his good jokes, and she would hurt just a little.

"Not so smiley now," James noticed. His thick brows raised and he got closer to the counter so that his hip bones were touching the edge of it, as close as he could get to Shuri without coming around. "What's upsetting the princess today? You get in trouble for outsmarting your professor again?"

"No," Shuri said around a shocked laugh.

Bucky laughed, too, sounding relieved, and Shuri was taken aback by he beautiful he looked today.He had his neck-length brunette hair tied into a soft-looking bun on top of his head, and his beard was nicely trimmed, the same as always, but he seemed more expressive, happier. When Shuri’s eyes met his, his grinned from ear-to-ear, and his eyes crinkled just a bit at the corners. 

“No,” Shuri repeated, coming out of her daze. "I didn't outsmart my professor. Not today, at least." She leaned against the sand-colored counter, thankful that there wasn’t a line behind her. 9:45am was the perfect time to come to Hydra. Most students coming out of their 8ams went to Shirley’s, a shop that was in the heart of campus, located in the main library. Other students who were either commuters or just lazy went to Starbucks at this time of day because they were tired and Starbucks had a drive-though. So, aside from the two men staring, confused, at their Macbooks in the back of the shop, Shuri and James were the only occupants in at the moment. Meaning, Shuri could take all the time she wanted talking to the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. 

“What then? Have you won yet another scholarship for being the smartest person on campus? Got just enough money now to buy your first mansion?” James mimicked Shuri and leaned across the counter, too, so that the pair were inches from each other.

Which was unfortunate for him. Shuri reached out and smacked him on the top of his shoulder. “You think too highly of me,” she accused. “I’m just an average third-year, living off iced coffee and barely able to afford my rent, let alone another year at this school.” She glanced back at Melnin Hall, the chemistry building that loomed in front of Hydra, and shuddered. 

James chuckled as he rubbed his abused shoulder. “Yeah, an average third-year whose _father_ was the president of the university for four years, and whose _brother_ is the dean of the college of arts and sciences.”

Shuri made a face, looking away. “Just because my family…”

James waved a hand as if to wave her words out of existence. “Yeah, yeah, princess, I know. Just because your family probably makes more money than the Trumps doesn’t mean they’ll give you credit cards and let you go nuts. You buy your own things, have your own place that you share with roommates, work a minimum wage job, I know.”

“I don’t like your tone,” Shuri grumbled, but when she looked up again, James' lips were raised in a small, reassuring smile, and his smiles were just so damn contagious.

James backed away from the counter then and headed to the coffee machines, completely skipping the cash register. “The usual for today?” he asked, peering at Shuri from above the frappuccino machine.

Shuri’s eyes widened and she quickly began shrugging off her school bag. “Wait, I didn’t pay for anything--”

James brought a finger to his lips and shushed her. “I know.” When Shuri continued to look confused, James laughed at her. “C’mon, lighten up a bit. Let me treat you, _average college student._ ”

“This is why I like you,” Shuri said around a bemused giggle. “You give some good vibes.”

“So the regular?” James asked, already pressing buttons on his machine.

“Yeah,” Shuri breathed. “The regular.”

***

Fifteen minutes later, Shuri and James were sitting at a small table near the windows, chatting away. Since the shop was unusually slow, Natasha, James’ ever-so-polite manager, had let him have an early break. 

“So, you’re thinking of going back to school?” Shuri inquired, excited, after she’d taken a large swallow of her caramel (“make sure you give me extra drizzle!”) frappe. 

“Yeah,” James confirmed. Although his tanned arms were draped casually over the back of his cherry wood chair, and although he had a total man-spread going on, he looked anxious. 

Shuri set her frappe down on the small, round table, and leaned in. “That’s exciting. Got any idea of what you wanna study?” She softened her voice for him and smiled encouragingly.

James fixed his eyes on her thin fingers, embarrassed. “Nothing as impressive as your astrophysics and chemical engineering double major,” he mumbled while his ears reddened. 

His eyes unfocused just a bit, and so he missed Shuri reaching out and touching his chest with the tip of her manicured middle finger. James jumped and Shuri laughed.

“I wanted to grab your hand, but it’s too far away,” she explained, not bothering to move her finger.

“So you poke my boob?” James exclaimed, shook. He snatched her hand out of the air and took it in both of his. “There. You’ve grabbed two of my hands at once. How do you feel now, Wonder Woman?”

"Honored," she dead-panned while shaking her head and chuckling quietly. She twisted her hand around in his so that she could just manage to squeeze his thumb. “Tell me what you want to study,” she said when she had a comforting grip on him. “All majors are impressive in their own way.”

James squeezed her hand back as he huffed and rolled his eyes. He sat up in the chair so her arm wasn’t extended so much across the table before he said, “International relations with a specialization in security and intelligence.”

Shuri sucked in a sharp breath and then whistled. “Whoa,” she breathed. “That sounds intense.”

 _Not nearly as intense as fucking astrophysics,_ James thought to himself, but didn’t bother saying that aloud. “I’ve always been interested in politics and foreign relations and dumb stuff like that,” he explained. “And learning about national security, how it works, and how we can better it is just what I’m into now. Hopefully, something better will--”

“Would you stop that?” Shuri demanded. 

James peeked up, surprised. “Stop what?”

“Being so self-depreciating,” she said, pulling his hands closer to her and placing her free hand on top of his. “Security and intelligence is _so_ cool, like, so unbelievably cool! Not to mention, it’s difficult! You’re going to learn CIA stuff and what to do in the case of terrorism, and important stuff like that. I’d totally flounder if I tried to study anything in international relations.”

Although doubtful, James nodded his head, appreciative that Shuri cared enough about him to gas him up this way. “Thanks, woman,” he said. Without thinking, he raised their hands to his lips and planted a chaste kiss atop hers. 

Shuri froze. In the harsh sunlight, James saw her pupils dilate and her lashes flutter as if her heart had skipped a beat. 

Immediately, he disentangled their hands. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, standing abruptly. “I should, uh, I should get back to work. I didn’t mean to be creepy or...or…”

Shuri stared at him incredulously for a few seconds, and James stared back at her, scared, tensed, and then...they both started laughing. 

“If you don’t sit your ass back down, I'm gonna get up and hit you,” Shuri threatened around laughs. “I’ve been throwing money at this place for almost two years because of you! You think I want you to apologize for kissing my hand?”

“Well, I--”

Just then, Shuri noticed Natasha watching them from behind the counter. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a slick ponytail and was bouncing back and forth as she shook her head at them. “James, Shuri, you two can be loud and flirty when you’re outdoors. But for now, shush. Actually, James, you’ve been on break for--what--thirty minutes now? Maybe you should wrap things up with your girlfriend.”

Shuri snorted and James sighed regrettably. 

“You heard the boss lady,” he sighed and then bit his lip to make himself stop grinning like a fool. “I’ve gotta get back to work.”

Shuri stood, gathering her frappe and school bag. 

“See you around?” James asked. He fought hard against the urge to touch her again. 

Shuri smiled sweetly and reached out just to poke him in the chest with the same middle finger from before. “Yeah. Um, what time do you get off today?”

When she didn’t move her finger, James was back to grinning like a child on Christmas morning and grabbed her outstretched hand, intertwining their fingers without much thought. “Around two if my boy Stevie isn’t late,” he said.

Shuri hummed and swayed playfully from side-to-side, never breaking eye contact. “Want to hang out after work? We could talk more about your cool, new potential major? Maybe even about asking my dad for a _small loan_ to pay for your tuition?”

James snorted. “Okay, Trump. But first, I’m gonna have to give you my number, and you’re gonna have to start calling me by the name I answer to and not the name on my nametag,” he whispered, stepping closer to her.

“Oh yeah? And what should I call you?”

Shuri watched him with wide, doe-like eyes, looked at him the same way he imagined he looked at her, as if he was a beautiful being, a force to be reckoned with.

“Bucky,” he said. “Just start calling me Bucky.”


End file.
